Gas-meter-connecting device



July 21, 1925. 1,547,131

F. E. STEVENS GAS METER CONNECTING DEVICE Filed March 2'?, 1924 Patented July 21, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. STEVENS, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO,v ASSIGNOB 'IAO THE LATTIMEB-STEVENS COMPANY, 0F COLUMBUS,

OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

GAS-METEB-CONNECTING DEVICE.

Application med march 27, 1924. serial No. 702,343. Y

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I,FRANK E. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Impro-vement in. Gas-Meter-Connecting Devices, of Which the following is a specification.

Gas meters are often made of sheet metal soldered together by hand and as a consequence are not uniform in size and relative arrangement of their members. The terminals of the inlet and outlet pipes are not uniformly in line and do not always lie in the same plane. Indeed it has been said that no two meters are exactlyv alike, hence to connect such meters with the street and house pipes is troublesome and the meters or pipes are often left in a strained condition resulting sometimes in a rupturing of thc meter. A variety of means for meeting these conditions have been proposed or patented but such means have been more or less complicated involving many parts and much care in application and adjustment.

The object of the present invent-ion is an improved and simplified means adapted to meet the conditions referred to in a very simple and inexpensive form, and of easy and quick application and adjustment.

My present invention is embodied in the example herein shown and described, the features of novelty being lfinally claimed.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure l is a front` eleva-tion showing an ordinary house gas meter hung with my said invention.

Fig; 2 is a detail view in elevation looking at the inner side of the left hand coupling shown in Fig. 1 with the connecting bar in section.

Fig. 3 is a similar View of the right hand coupling in Fig. 1 with the connecting bar in section at that place.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the connecting bar, and

Fig. 5 is an edge view.

In the views 6 designates the meterwhich has inlet and outlet pipes 7 and 8 respectively. The hanger in the present invention consists of a strip or bar 9 of steel or other suitable metal made "of suit ble len h having one end flat and the o her en curved in cross section as shown at 9. The bar 9 is provided with holes 10 and 11 to permit the passage of fastening bolts, the hole 11 being elongated vertically. The inlet and outlet connecter pipe sections or couplings, shown at 13 and 14, respectively, are`pro vided with lateral ears 15 and 16 respectively, saidl ears being provided with oved or sunken seats for the end of the bars 9. The seat in the inlet coupling is made Wider than the Width of the bar '9 and flat so that the bar and connecter section can, when the fastening means are released at that end, rock somewhat vertically with reference to each other, While the seat in the coupling 14 for the curved end of the connecter bar corresponds in curvature to the curvature lof the bar end so that the coupling can turn on the axis of the bar. The lateral ears 15 and 16 are each slotted as shown at 17 and 18 and the ends of the bars are provided with threaded. bolts Ato pass through said slots and receive Washers and nuts such as shown at 19 for securing the ends of the bars When the adjustment has been made. The pipe section 13 contains an ordinary cut off valve 13a.

When a meter is to be hung the nut or vnuts at, 19 are loosened and the pipe sections 13 and 14 applied to the service and house pipes 7L and 8". The meter is con. nected to the couplings by means of ordinary nipples and unions 20. Upon tightening up the nuts 19 the bar 9 p ermits the necessary movement to accommodate the existing conditions after which the nuts are secure the parts tothe strain, if any, on the meter of strains the unions.

It will be observed vthat with the present invention the only piece to be handled by the Workman in applying the strain relieving bar is that* bar plus the usual bolts, washers and nuts for effecting the fastening and that the single bar, because of its construction at its opposite ends, permits of all the necessary adjustments. 1

los

/B The forms of the parts can be changed Without departing from the gist of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a meter, a meter hanger including inlet and outlet connecter pipe sections having seats, one of which is curved in cross section, a single bar for connecting' said pipe sections to engage said seats one end of said bar being curved in cross section to fit said curved seat of one of the connecter sections and means for adj ustably connecting said bar to said seats.

2. In combination with a meter, a met-er hanger including inlet and outlet connecter pipe sections having seats, one of which is curved in cross section, a single bar for connecting said pipe sections to engage said seats, one end of said bar being flat and the other end curved in cross section to it said curved seat of one of the connecter sections and means for,l adjustably connecting said bar to said seats.

3. In combination with a meter, a meter hanger including inlet and outlet connecter pipe sections having seats, one of which is curved in cross section, a single bar for connecting said pipe sections to engage said seats, one end of said bar being curved in Cross section and provided with a vertically elongated slot, said curved end to fit said curved seat of one of the connecter sections, and means' for adjustably connecting said bar to said seats.

FRANK E. STEVENS. 

